8 Best Free Google SEO Tools You Must Try Now

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important for driving traffic and improving the visibility of your website. Google offers a suite of free tools that can help you optimize your site, track performance, and gain insights into your audience.

Here, we’ll explore the eight of the best free Google SEO tools.

1. Google Search Console for Technical SEO

Google Search Console is a must-have SEO tool that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results.

It provides detailed reports and data on how Google views your website. As a result, you can optimize your content and improve your visibility in search engines.

Benefits of Using Google Search Console for SEO

Track your website’s performance, including clicks, impressions, and average position in Google search results.
Identify and fix indexing issues to ensure all important pages are being indexed by Google.
Gain insights into which queries bring users to your site and analyze click-through rates (CTR) to optimize content.
Identify and fix mobile usability issues to ensure a better user experience on mobile devices.
Easily submit sitemaps to help Google crawl your site efficiently.
Identify technical SEO issues to optimize your website.

Further Reading: How to Add Google Analytics to WordPress

2. Google Analytics for Website Performance

Google Analytics is a free tool for tracking your website’s performance. This advanced, free tool gives detailed insights into how people interact with your website, giving important data such as traffic source, user activity, and conversion rates.

If Google Search Console is search engine-focused, Google Analytics is user-focused.

Benefits of Using Google Analytics for SEO

Identify which keywords are driving traffic to your site.
Discover where your visitors are coming from (organic, direct, referral).
Measure conversions and set goals to evaluate the effectiveness of your SEO campaigns.
Identify pages with high bounce rates to improve user engagement and retention.
Create custom reports to track specific SEO metrics relevant to your business goals.

Further Reading: How to Submit Website to Google Search Console

3. Google Business Profile for Local SEO

Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is an important tool for local SEO since it allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google Search and Maps.

Here’s an example of local Google search results:

And this is what a GBP looks like:

By creating and optimizing your GMP, you can ensure that your website appears in local search results, allowing potential consumers to reach you more easily.

Benefits of Using Google Business Profile for SEO

Improves local search visibility on Google Maps and local search results.
Provides direct communication with customers through reviews and Q&A.
Showcase positive reviews and business information, building trust with potential customers.
Drives more organic traffic to your website and physical location.

4. PageSpeed Insights for User Experience

PageSpeed Insights is an essential free SEO tool from Google that analyzes the performance of web pages on both mobile and desktop devices. By evaluating key metrics such as Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), it provides a comprehensive assessment of your site’s speed and user experience.

Here is what the PageSpeed Insights dashboard looks like:

This tool not only highlights performance issues but also offers actionable recommendations to optimize page load times.

Benefits of Using PageSpeed Insights for SEO

Improves user experience by reducing page load times.
It helps identify areas to make your website faster, which is a Google ranking factor.
Analyzes both desktop and mobile performance, ensuring your site is optimized for all devices.

Further Reading: 21 Best Ways to Speed Up a WordPress Site

5. Google Trends for Topic Research

Google Trends is a great SEO tool that gives useful information about what people are looking for on Google.

It lets you explore trending topics, compare the popularity of various search terms, and uncover seasonal trends, all of which may help you enhance your content strategy.

By analyzing search traffic over time and regional interest, you can adjust your content to match the needs of your target audience while staying ahead of industry trends.

For example, if you search for “AI content,” you will see a big spike in interest recently:

Furthermore, it also offers related queries and topics, helping you to expand your keyword research and discover new content opportunities.

Overall, it’s a powerful tool for marketers looking to boost their SEO efforts and create relevant, timely content that resonates with their audience.

Benefits of Using Google Trends for SEO

Discover relevant keywords, including trending and long-tail keywords.
Gain insights into regional search interests to tailor content for specific geographic locations.
Analyze and compare multiple keywords to determine the best ones for your SEO efforts.
Monitor trends related to your competitors to stay ahead in the market.

6. Google Keyword Planner for Keyword Research

Google Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool. It helps you find new keywords for your SEO and PPC campaigns effectively.

By providing valuable insights into keyword search volumes, competition levels, and cost-per-click (CPC) data, it allows you to find the best keywords to target for maximum impact. This tool also allows you to analyze historical data to spot trends and forecast future performance, making it easier to refine your keyword strategy.

Additionally, GKP helps you organize keywords into groups, streamlining campaign planning and execution. Plus, its seamless integration with Google Ads ensures a comprehensive approach to campaign management, ultimately enhancing your site’s visibility and driving more traffic.

Benefits of Using Google Keyword Planner for SEO

Find new keywords relevant to your business and see their search volume, competition, and cost-per-click (CPC).
Analyze the historical performance of keywords to identify trends and forecast future performance.
See how competitive certain keywords are and estimate the cost of running ads for them.
Organize keywords into groups to streamline your campaign planning and execution.
Helps identify keywords competitors are targeting.
Allows targeting keywords for specific geographic locations.
Provides performance forecasts for keywords in PPC campaigns.

7. Rich Results Test for Enhanced SERP Results

The Rich Results Test is a free Google tool for SEO that allows you to verify if your web pages support rich results, which are enhanced listings in search results that include elements like images, reviews, ratings, and more.

By testing your structured data, the Rich Results Test helps ensure that your content is eligible for these eye-catching and informative snippets. As a result, it helps you increase your click-through rates and drive more traffic to your site.

Benefits of Using Rich Results Test for SEO

Increases the chances of appearing in rich snippets, improving click-through rates.
Provides users with more relevant information directly in search results.
Helps search engines better understand your content, improving indexing and ranking.
Identifies issues in structured data implementation, ensuring correct usage.
Helps your content stand out from competitors in search engine results pages (SERPs).

8. Google Alerts for Monitor Web Content

Last on our list of the best Google SEO tools is Google Alerts. It allows you to monitor the web for specific topics or keywords of interest. It sends email notifications whenever new content relevant to your chosen topics is published on the web.

This Google tool is particularly useful for SEO professionals who want to track industry trends, monitor their online reputation, and discover new backlink opportunities.

Benefits of Using Google Alerts for SEO

Keep track of when and where your brand is mentioned online.
Discover new link-building opportunities for your website.
Get alerts on the latest trends and updates in your industry.
Generate ideas for new content based on popular topics and news.

Free Google SEO Tools: Conclusion

Using these free Google SEO tools collectively can significantly enhance your site’s performance, visibility, and user experience. Regularly monitoring and optimizing your site with these tools can help you stay ahead of the competition, attract more traffic, and achieve your business goals. An optimized site lays the foundation for a successful SEO strategy, ensuring long-term growth and success.

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Murtaza Malek

Web Engineer, Evid Learner and Reader, Techentreprenuer, Tech Evangelist.

7 June 2024